Thursday Music: The Durham Ukulele Orchestra

Formed in 2007, the Durham Ukulele Orchestra organically grew out of the ukulele jam session held at High Strung Violins and Guitars (and ukuleles!) on the first and third Mondays of every month. Upon forming, a weekly practice wasorganized and the band began to mix together their wide range of tastes and influences into a cohesive and delicious “musical soup” that ranges from jazz standards to art rock classics like Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads.

Bending these selections to the will of their tiny four-stringed instruments, the orchestra continues to turn out surprising and delightful renditions of familiar and slightly more obscure selections from the world of popular music. And although the band is very serious about what they do, (as serious as ukuleleists can be) the central idea behind D.U.O. has always been fun. Fun music to play and fun tunes for the public to listen to. At the end of the day, the idea of leading a musical life and the band’s love for playing with each other is what keeps this tiny juggernaut rolling on.

We hope to see you at a show soon, and if you come out, make sure and say hello!